Magi
Magi are masters of time and space who oppose disorder and wield an innately volatile type of energy to govern the destiny of all living beings in the physical universe on behalf of godlike beings known as titans. However, despite the fact that the titans and the mages who serve them seek to enslave and reorder worlds and creations that they consider disorderly, mages (according to Blizzard) are not necromancers who seek to govern every living being in the physical universe and use a time-affected force that brings everything to a state of entropic decay and eventual oblivion. Additionally, mages (according to Blizzard) don't seek to cool off burning worlds and creatures by drawing heat with a thermal void that brings everything it sucks in to a state of absolute 0. Essentially, mages are the opposite of warlocks, channelers who oppose the divine order of the titans. Ironically, the warlocks — as opposed to the mages — would be the ones with the ability to govern the cosmic systems of the physical universe because they don't oppose disorder and would be able to channel the forbidden powers of a demonic army that transcends time and space. As such, if mages oppose order and the titans by channeling the forbidden powers on behalf of the Legion, mages would be warlocks who can channel the forbidden powers of the Legion to order demons that transcend all realities to reverse entropy or undo disorder on behalf of the Legion's master, Sargeras. Arcane Mysteries "practitioners of unspeakable magic, macabre manipulators of life and death: necromancers."Paragons pg. 545 on iBooks The Arcane mysteries are mysteries of life and death.Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness manual - The Rise of the Shadow Council Before life began, before the cosmos took shape, there was Light .. and there was Void. Unfettered by the confines of time and space, the Light swelled across all existence in the form of a boundless prismatic sea. Great torrents of living energy flitted through its mirrored depths, their movements conjuring a symphony of joy and hope. The ocean of Light was dynamic and ever shifting. Yet as it expanded, some of its energies faded and dimmed, leaving behind pockets of cold nothingness. From the absence of Light in these spaces, a new power coalesced and came to be. This power was the Void, a dark and vampiric force driven to devour all energy, to twist creation inward to feed upon itself. The Void quickly grew and spread its influence, moving against the flowing waves of Light. The mounting tension between these two opposing yet inseparable energies eventually ignited a series of catastrophic explosions, rupturing the fabric of creation and birthing a new realm into existing. In that moment, the physical universe was born. The energies released by the clash of Light and Void raged across the nascent cosmos, raw matter merging and spinning into the primordial worlds without number. For long epochs, this ever-expanding universe—the Great Dark Beyond—broiled in a maelstrom of fire and magic.World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 pg. 30-31 on iBooks The most unstable energies coalesced into an astral dimension known as the Twisting Nether. Light and Void collided and bled together at the edges of this realm, throwing it into turmoil. Although tangentially linked to the Great Dark Beyond, the Twisting Nether existed outside the borders of the physical universe. Even so, the Twisting Nether's volatile energies would occasionally tear through the veil of the Great Dark Beyond, flooding into reality and warping creation. The cataclysmic birth of the cosmos also flung shards of Light throughout reality. These shards suffused the matter of myriad worlds with the spark of life, giving rise to creatures of wondrous diversity.World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 pg. 31 on iBooks The most common forms of life to appear were the elementals—primordial beings of fire, water, earth, and air. These creatures were native to nearly every physical world. Many of them reveled in the turmoil that held sway over the early ages of creation. Occasionally, clouds of fractured life gathered and gave shape to beings of far greater power, of far greater potential. Composed of the primordial matter from which the universe was born, the titans are colossal beings. Imbued with the raw power of creation itself, titans roam the cosmos like walking worlds. Their spirits—known as world-souls—formed deep within the fiery core of a small number of worlds. For ages, these nascent titans slumbered, their energies suffusing the celestial bodies they inhabited. When the titans finally awoke, they did so as living worlds. Cosmic winds howled across their gigantic forms, bodies shrouded in a cloak of stardust, skin crisscrossed with silvery mountain peaks and oceans shimmering with latent magic. With eyes that shone like brilliant stars, they observed the cosmos and became enraptured by its mysteries. Searching for others of their kind, they wandered the distant corners of the Great Dark. This grand, far-reaching voyage would one day alter the course of creation and shape the destiny of all living things.World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 pg. 31-33 on iBooks Ordering Disorderly Worlds File:Arcane Tactics.jpg|Arcane Tactics: Arcane magic is the quintessential combination of spell power and efficiency. File:Reverse Polarity.jpg|Reverse Polarity: "Arcane magic doesn't follow normal rules of nature. Opposites definitely do not attract." - Belmaril, Timewalker Bloodmage File:Soul Trap.jpg|Soul Trap: Fel magic has a profound effect on the soul - both the victim's and the warlock's. The titans of the Pantheon came to realize that order was crucial to finding others of their kind. Order is most commonly perceived in reality as arcane magic. This type of energy is innately volatile, and wielding it requires intense precision and concentration. Energies can be so chaotic that they manifest as entropic horrors, pure fel magic given form to lash out at all life. To fuel fel magic—the ways of the warlock—but an significant sacrifice is required.The Comic Volume 4 - Whispers: Sacrificial magic was considered the greatest violation of life and the titans had hounds, instantly attuned to punish those who delved into such sorcery, police the use of arcane magic.Quest:Seeking the Soulstones Masters of the Arcane Arcane File:Archmage Barstow.jpg|Archmage Barstow: "The time has come to 'enlighten' the Scourge with the proper use and technique of magic." Mages of the arcane are diviners of secrets, balancing the ebb and flow of incredible mystic energies. Unparalleled skill is required to manipulate the volatile forces of the universe. These practitioners push their magical knowledge to its very limits—often to the brink of their own exhaustion, and at great risk to the world around them. Those who master this craft are capable of releasing a barrage of unrelenting power upon their enemies, drawing upon replenishing energies to maintain their assault for as long as the battle demands.World of Warcraft > Legion Class Preview Series: Mage Fire File:Blaize Brightspark.jpg|Blaize Brightspark: "Fire burns everyone - it doesn't care who you are!" While any worthy mage is an unparalleled expert in the use of magic and heavily dedicated to their craft, those who master the forces of fire tend to be a little more audacious than their peers. If a threat stands before them, the answer is always to neutralize it in a glorious blaze. A lifetime dedicated to the study of fiery forces only fuels their pyromania, and these mages take pride—even pleasure—in igniting their enemies in wild bursts of flame. Mistake their affinity for watching things burn as a lack of self-control at your own peril. Frost Frost mages stand apart from their colleagues, in that their chosen school of magic focuses on maintaining supreme control over the capabilities of their enemies. Mages who command frost perform chilling displays on the battlefield, rendering foes immobile as they bombard them with ice. Often, the blade never reaches the caster before the bitter cold takes hold. The frost mage exudes frigid power as icicles form around them, foreshadowing the wintry demise of those who stand opposed on the field of battle. Organizations The Kirin Tor "...magic is the art of circumventing the normal. That's why the philosophical debates in the halls of the Kirin Tor are so much buffle and blow. They seek to place rationality upon the world, and regulate its motions. The stars march in order across the sky, the seasons fall one after the other with lockstepped regularity, and men and women live and die. If that does not happen, it's magic, the first warping of the universe, a few floorboards that are bent out of shape, waiting for industrious hands to pry them up." - MedivhThe Last Guardian pg. 114 on iBooks The Kirin Tor is a conclave of Wizards that Dalaran, a small, magocratic nation, is ruled by.Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness manual - Dalaran If there was one thing every member of the Kirin Tor valued, it was his indepedence.Tides of Darkness pg. 56 on iBooks This magical order seems like an oddity, for getting even two wizards to work together was difficult—and the thought of managing more than at was almost beyond imagining.Tides of Darkness pg. 56 on iBooks The Kirin Tor held no other spellcasters as their equals for magical knowledge, indeed they often sought to hinder those wizards who did not hold allegiance to the Violet Citadel.The Last Guardian pg. 30-31 on iBooks Magi of the Kirin Tor didn't get involved in ordinary politics and nor did they do the ordinary political maneuvering such as inviting royalty to enjoy their hospitality. Most mages of the Kirin Tor had at least some semblance of order to their archives, with their most valuable tomes hidden away.The Last Guardian pg. 76 on iBooks Speculation Section Are Arcanists, Technically, Demonologists? The Roleplaying Game WoW References Category:Class Category:Magic Category:Lore